Rdio previously stuck to a subscription model of $9.99 per month for unlimited listening. Users could start off with a free trial, but once they hit a certain number of listening hours or had their account for six months, they had to pay up, make a new account, or go elsewhere. Rdio will retain its old subscription model, which is the only way to get full functionality in its mobile apps.

On a Web-based, ad-supported account, users will hear intermittent “in-stream messaging,” including “messages from partner brands, notifications about exclusive content, and other helpful tips.”

Rdio’s mobile service remains restricted: users who don’t pay the subscription fee can listen to a number of station presets but can’t get their own playlists or do self-directed browsing. Spotify recently started letting ad-supported tablet users browse music on the mobile app, though they still cannot save music for offline listening.

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That's because their desktop apps are basically a native window wrapper around a web page, the same way some mobile apps try to be cross-platform by making a wrapper around a web view. The desktop app adds support for keyboard media buttons (which is awesome), but that's about it.

This becomes very noticeable because (at least on OS X) their "app" shares cookies with Safari. Logging out of one logs you out of the other.

I liked Rdio's interface (I can't stand Spotify's), but I eventually stopped paying because their "high quality" streams were very obviously lower quality than MOG, Google Play Music, or Spotify. Rdio also refuses to say what bit rate they stream at. It was a deal breaker for me.